Billy Smith

I'm a BACP-registered counsellor with fifteen years of clinical experience, and much of my current work is defined by something I didn't expect to go through myself: burnout in 2020, hard enough that I had to properly rebuild.

What came out of that rebuild is a therapeutic photography system I now use with clients, alongside talking therapy. The idea is simple: some things are hard to put into words straight away, but you can often photograph them before you can say them. I trained formally in this approach with Neil Gibson, and I use it particularly with people who are burned out, pre-burnout, or who've spent years pushing through rather than stopping.

In practice, that means sessions that combine space to talk with small, practical exercises you can do between sessions using nothing more than your phone camera. Clients often describe it as providing them a way to notice what's actually going on for them, rather than just being told to slow down.

I work mostly with high-performing, capable people, often professionals, who are still functioning on the outside but running on empty underneath. Many have been the person others rely on, and have learned to keep going long past the point they should have stopped.

If you're not sure whether what you're feeling counts as burnout, I run a free, anonymous two-minute check-in at burnoutrecoveryhelp.com, built on a recognised clinical burnout tool. It's not a diagnosis, but it's often a useful, low-pressure starting point before deciding whether to get in touch. I also share weekly videos on therapeutic photography and nervous system regulation on YouTube, @BillySmithTherapy, if you'd like a sense of how I think and work before booking anything.

My practice is based around helping people who are burned out, or heading that way, and who've usually been managing everything alone for a long time before they get in touch. If that's you, you won't just be told to "rest more" — we'll look at what your nervous system has actually been doing, and build from there.

Sessions are one-to-one, and I bring in therapeutic photography where it's useful: using your phone camera to observe patterns you might not yet have words for. You don't need to be interested in photography or good at it. It's a tool for reflection, not a creative project.

Before booking, you're welcome to take the free two-minute burnout check-in at burnoutrecoveryhelp.com. It's anonymous, evidence-based, and I read every result myself. It's a good way to get a clearer sense of where you currently sit, with no obligation attached. You can also find weekly videos on my YouTube channel, @BillySmithTherapy, where I walk through the ideas and exercises I use with clients, including the photography-based practices mentioned above.

I keep a small caseload so I can give people proper attention, and I'm happy to have a short initial conversation before we commit to ongoing work, to check we're a good fit. Contact me whenever you're ready — there's no pressure to have it all figured out first.